Face Like Thunder
by Hope You Will Always Stay
Summary: He can see the golden roofs of the buildings, taste the salty air, feel the rough stone of the sun-bleached buildings, watch his feet roam over the intricate tile floors of the village. He can feel energy rush through his veins as the sea breeze blows red strands of hair into his eyes. Everything is okay in that moment, everything is at peace. He is at peace. Then Naruto wakes up.
1. Prologue

**This work was partially inspired by blackkat's Stormborn which is a completed fic that can be found of AO3. It inspired the reincarnation aspect of this story.**

* * *

 _A gentle hand ruffled his hair as he looked out at the sea. Glancing up slightly, a kind woman with long red hair and deep green eyes smiled down at him kindly. Her hair was moved slightly by the breeze, no hair ornaments locking the blood red strands in place. She wore a just barely knee-length purple kimono with what looked like clouds decorating the top half in a deep, burnt orange color. The material was silken, made to withstand but allow movement and breathing in the hot and humid climate of Uzushiogakure. A shinobi headband hung around her neck, the village symbol a spiral encased within a circle. A miniature hurricane, just like Tsubaki Uzumaki, the same woman who had birthed five sons and three daughters and still had time to run her entire clan._

 _"Amahiko, has something caught your attention?" Her eyes sparkled like gems, "Tenma is asking for you at the tower."_

 _"Nothing, kaa-san." He sighed, "I'll go find oji-san."_

 _"My brother can wait." She stared him down with critical eyes, "Something is bothering you."_

 _He gnawed on his lip, regarding his mother with sad eyes, "I'm the youngest of eight children."_

 _"Yes, I'm aware." She laughed, "And of what consequence is that?"_

 _"What's going to happen to me? Am I just gonna be the backup of the backup of the backup of the backup of the-?"_

 _"Hiko-chan." Her face was severe, "What are you talking about?"_

 _"Am I just going to be the backup clan head? Not even the backup, the backup times eight!"_

 _"And who gave you that foolish idea?" Her smile was amused, "Was my brother just a backup? Or my sisters?"_

 _"Oji-san became Uzukage, though." His shoulders slumped, "And Hikaru-oba-san is a fuinjutsu master. Then Kaiyo-oba-san is, well, she's legendary. Almost as much as oji-san."_

 _"Or more so." Tsubaki's smiled became a grin, "I'm pretty sure she could pick a fight with a God and still win."_

 _"I'm not any of that." He huffed, "I'm just a chunin."_

 _"For now, Hiko-chan." She snorted out a laugh, "I was a chunin once, hell, so was Tenma. Now he's become the Nidaime Uzukage, taking over for our great uncle by the time he was twenty-six. You're eight, you have time."_

 _"Not enough." His eyes flittered over to look at the sea again, "I want to learn so much, kaa-san. I want to see so much."_

 _Her hand brushed through his blood red hair softly once more, "You will, my child. You're only eight and already a chunin. You almost beat Nanami in her promotion age of seven. Only a year apart, and look at all she's done."_

 _"She's the future clan head. It's expected of her." He rolled his eyes, "I don't wanna be like her. I don't just wanna be a clan head, or just a jounin. I wanna be more, kaa-san!"_

 _"Maa, where'd you get all that ambition from?" She sighed, "For the love of Kami-sama, become Uzukage then! Take the hat when Tenma is done. Do it so your poor old mother won't get pestered to."_

 _His smile was wide and blinding, "Only for you, kaa-san."_

 _"Uh huh." She laughed, "Now go see what my pest of a brother wants. Oh, and bring home milk on your way back! We're nearly out!"_

 _"Hai, kaa-san!"_

 _He ran off the large Uzumaki estate and deep into the heart of the village. He can see the golden roofs of the buildings, taste the salty air, feel the rough stone of the sun-bleached buildings, watch his feet roam over the intricate tile floors of the village. He can feel energy rush through his veins as the sea breeze blows red strands of hair into his eyes. The streets are alive with vendors and civilians and shinobi, all milling around and completing their morning routines. Many waved, smiled as the saw his signature Uzumaki red hair in the crowd of people. He could see a lot of his clansmen around that morning, which was unsurprising. He couldn't go anywhere without seeing at least one family member. They were the most prominent clan in all of Uzushio, just in front of the Mizushima clan, and they were the founding clan to boot._

 _The early Uzumaki's had risen the cliffs from which their village was built on from the sea floor themselves, creating a sturdy base for what would become one of the most powerful villages in the Elemental Nations. Located just off the coast of the Land of Whirlpools, the clan that is known for sealing and longevity built their home and soon flocks of people, both civilian and shinobi alike, poured into the village in droves. The Uzumaki would always be the largest populated clan, Amahiko was sure of this. Their life forces were so strong, and there were multiple branch families of the Uzumaki besides the main branch, of which Amahiko himself was the youngest child of._

 _Entering the Uzukage Tower, he quickly rushed up the spiral staircase and burst into his uncle's office, a large smile on his face. Tenma, a man of only thirty-four, sat behind his desk with his orange and white Uzukage hat perched on his desk beside the mountains of paperwork he had stacked up. The office was large, round, and had many books and scrolls scattered all over the place. The man himself had darker hair than much of his clansmen, darker than his sisters, but still just as red as any other Uzumaki. It was long, not as long as Tsubaki's whose practically reached her ankles, but about shoulder length and tied up into a topknot. He smiled when he saw his nephew enter the room loudly._

 _"Hiko-chan!" He laughed, "What's the grand entrance about?"_

 _"I'm going to be Uzukage after you." His voice, while at a normal volume, was set and determined. He held his uncle's stare until the man felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his face._

 _"Damn kid, all of you take after your father." He muttered quietly so Amahiko couldn't hear before speaking up, "Well, I can see you're...determined."_

 _"I am." Amahiko nodded, "I am prepared to live and die for my village. I told my mother I wanted to be something more, and this is that something more."_

 _"Well, then, I guess it's only proper." Tenma laughed, "Kid, all your brothers' and sisters' had a sensei or two. I know you had your genin sensei, Tatsu Yoshida, correct?"_

 _At his nephew's nod he continued, "Well, I think you're ready for more than that. She's an excellent jounin, don't get me wrong, but you and your team advanced before she could teach you anything besides the basics. Now she's out gathering intelligence, and you have no one to teach you. So, today's your lucky day because you're getting a new sensei."_

 _Amahiko perked up instantly, "Who?"_

 _"Me." Tenman smiled, "Your mom wants you trained with someone who's a high caliber ninja, and she was going to ask Kaiyo, but I swooped in and saved you. You can thank me later, but I couldn't subject my own nephew to that. I love my sister but...she's insane."_

 _The chunin shivered, "Thanks, oji-san. This will...this will be the turning point! I can see it now, from now on I'm not just Amahiko Uzumaki!_

 _"You wanna be something more?" Tenma eyed his nephew and then his hat with a sharp eye, "Well, lemme tell you something. I've been watching you, and I think you have some potential. I'm helping you because you're my sister's son, and you're good for a chunin. The question is can you be better than just good. If you are worthy of the title Uzukage by the time I'm ready to step down...I'll turn the damn hat over to you."_

 _"Yeah!" Amahiko smiled widely, "Let's start training now! I wanna work some on my chakra chains!"_

 _"Eh, later today." Tenma frowned, "I got mountains of paperwork to do at the moment, and if your aunt drops by and she finds out I haven't done any of it, she'll take the hat and become the Sandaime herself before you even have a shot."_

 _He laughed, "Okay, Tenma-sensei! I'm gonna got get some ramen, find me when you're done!"_

 _Joy coursed through his veins. His uncle was going to teach him, and he'd become what he'd always wanted. He'd become more than normal, he'd be more than just the eighth child. He'd be the Uzukage. Feeling the wind on his cheeks and tasting the salty air, everything was okay in that moment. Everything was at peace._

And then Naruto woke up.


	2. The Biggest Disappointment

"Okay, Naruto, just make a clone now." Iruka smiled encouragingly

The blonde tensed his shoulders slightly, sighing as he went through the proper hand seals quickly, " _Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Clone Technique)!"

Naruto tried to tame his chakra, force the astonishing mass down into three normal clones. However, when the small puff of smoke cleared, what came out of his effort were three deformed masses slumped on the ground. Not even the facial features were correct; they looked like they'd been poorly drawn on by some five-year-old with no artistic talent. Even his whiskers on his cheeks just looked like meaningless scribbles. Closing his eyes, he pressed back the tell-tale stinging feeling that went hand in hand with tears and forced himself to look at the two men sitting at a desk in the front of the classroom. Mizuki-sensei looked savagely happy, which made Naruto's gut twist and turn. However, Iruka-sensei's expression hurt him even more. Disappointment in his eyes, shining like a beacon, as he looked at Naruto with sadness and pity.

 _("Yuudai, you don't want to do this."_

 _He was knee deep in mud, a katana held in his hand and his breathing heavy. A man with brown hair stood in front of him, disappointment in his golden eyes and a frown marring his lips. He looked at Amahiko with pity and thinly veiled anger._

 _"Oh, but I do."_

 _Rage boiled in his veins, "You were born here! This is your home! How could you betray us like this? How could you betray me?"_

 _His voice cracked and his chest hurt and the stench of blood permeated the air and he tried to stare at the traitor in front of him rather than look at the dead bodies of those laying on the ground all around him. Oh, Kami, he was supposed to protect these people-!_

 _"Power is a dangerous thing, Amahiko, and you have too much of it yet you have no idea how to use it. The Nidaime was wrong to train you, but I guess he didn't know you'd be a weak-willed coward." Yuudai's smile was twisted, "To think, your uncle would probably cheer for your death if he saw you now."  
_

 _"We grew up together." His voice was rough, "We were in the same graduating class. You don't want to do this. You know I only do what is best for Uzushio!"_

 _"I'm sure you do, in your own eyes." The golden eyes man stilled, his face going grim, "You have so much power, but so little ambition. You're running Uzushio into the ground!"  
_

 _"So you decide to wreck it instead?" Blood was running down his face, and red hair was beginning to fall in his eyes and he knew his voice sounded hysterical, "That is not a solution! Look at the dead and wounded, Yuudai! Look at what you've done, because soon you will be lying with them for your crimes!"  
_

 _His smile was savage, "I'm going to raze this village to the ground with you in it, then I'm going to raise it up once more to be something better! The Uzumaki have reigned for too long, don't you agree? I think it's time for a shift in power!"_

 _Then Yuudai rushed him.)_

Disregarding the shiver running down his back, Naruto looked at Iruka-sensei and tried to ignore the scene playing out in the back of his mind. Grief, disappointment, anger, resentment; all of these emotions flushed through him along with embarrassment as he dispelled the three failed clones. Iruka frowned upon seeing the boy's face, not sure if Naruto knew just how much his expression gave away what he was feeling.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Iruka pursed his lips, "You have failed to meet the requirements to pass. You can always try again next year."

Biting his lip, the blonde boy nodded before rushing out, leaving the room behind and trying to ignore the burning and condemning eyes of his classmates. Soon all the exams were over, and Naruto lowered his eyes so he didn't have to watch all the excited children with hitai-ates running out to embrace their equally excited parents. Now, he wasn't even dead last. He was just the only one he didn't graduate.

"Look at it. I almost feel sorry for it."

"I don't. Serves it right, after everything it did."

"It was the only one who didn't graduate."

"Like I said, serves it right after-"

"Shh! You can't talk about that!"

His shoulders slumped further, hearing the whispers of the mothers as he sat in the shadows on the swing right in front of the academy. He wasn't dumb, he knew that much. He just couldn't focus. He couldn't control his chakra. He could trace calligraphy he shouldn't know on the desk with his fingertips, he knew a taijutsu style instinctively that was so different from the academy style, he could run through hand seals for jutsu no academy student should know exists. Most of all, he could create seals. Things that are renown in the shinobi world, things he excelled in. He could trace them out in his mind, know what they do and how to use them. Still, he was labeled as the dead last. It was understandable, he never paid attention in class and during tests, he couldn't find the words to dumb down all the knowledge in his head to fit into the tiny lines they provided.

Now he would never be what he was meant to be, he would never be more than the demon kid. He wanted to be more, though, he wanted it with every fiber in his body.

 _("She's the future clan head. It's expected of her." He rolled his eyes, "I don't wanna be like her. I don't just wanna be a clan head, or just a jounin. I wanna be more, kaa-san!"_

 _"Maa, where'd you get all that ambition from?" She sighed, "For the love of Kami-sama, become Uzukage then! Take the hat when Tenma is done. Do it so your poor old mother won't get pestered to."_

 _His smile was wide and blinding, "Only for you, kaa-san.")_

He closed his eyes, ignoring his fantasies for a moment as he tried to figure out a way to get his chakra under control. Normal techniques had never worked for the loud-mouthed boy, as he'd tried tree walking and he'd tried meditating previously, but he had trouble concentrating his chakra into such small amounts. He'd be an awful medic, he knew that much for sure. He had the knowledge he just didn't know how to apply it in real life situations, which was almost as bad as not having it at all. Hands tightening around the ropes of the swingset, Naruto looked up to see Mizuki-sensei approaching him with an alarmingly kind smile on his face. Mizuki had always hated Naruto, the blond boy could tell, despite attempts on the white haired man's part to hide his hatred.

"Naruto, are you doing okay?" He smiled, but it seemed more patronizing than anything else, "I know it must be hard to be the only one-"

"What do you want?" Naruto sighed, looking at the man with a sad expression, "If you're here to tell me what I already know... _please_ don't."

Mizuki seemed thrown off momentarily because for a split second he didn't see the blond demon sitting on the swing in front of him. His eyes looked so much older, and he was pinned under the gaze of someone who knew what he was trying to do. However, he kept up his smile and continued to speak placidly to the boy in front of him.

"Unless you know of a way to graduate despite failing, I'd say this is new information." At the boy's astonished look, Mizuki couldn't help but laugh, "Exactly. All you need to do, Naruto, is trust me."

Every fiber of his being told him to run away, to go find Iruka-sensei and tell him what Mizuki had just said. However, something halted him. He wanted to be a ninja, he wanted to prove people wrong. If he was going to be something more, he needed that hitai-ate and he needed to be a genin. So he controlled his racing heart and kept his urges to flee locked down and stared Mizuki down, raising his eyebrows and silently prompting the man to continue.

The chunin was unnerved by the boy's silent stare, blue eyes intense and looming, but he merely smiled and explained, "All you need to do is sneak into the Hokage Residence and learn one technique from the Scroll of Seals. If you can manage to do this and meet me in the forest surrounding the residence, you'll graduate."

"Why didn't Iruka-sensei tell me about this?" Naruto's eyes were narrowed now, "Why would you take the time to tell me?"

It was no secret Mizuki hated Naruto, even Iruka could tell that much. Not that this was new, Naruto couldn't count the number of people that despised him the same way he couldn't count the number of stars in the sky. There were simply too many, probably the majority of the civilian population and most of the shinobi population, as well. It had been that way for as long as he could remember, with Hokage-jiji and Iruka-sensei the only ones to really care about him nowadays. In his younger years, there were a few ANBU agents, like Dog and Crow, who would give him clothes and food occasionally. Now there were no ANBU agents and Naruto spent most of his time alone with his ramen and his false memories.

"I don't...hate you, Naruto." Mizuki's smile was just as fake as Iruka's when he had first met Naruto, "I want all my students to succeed."

"How long do I have?"

"Until midnight. Don't get caught, remember this is a test to see if you have enough skill to be a genin."

 _Don't do it_ , a voice spoke desperately in his head, _Don't fall for this_. It sounded familiar, like a whisper from another life. He shook it off as Mizuki left, Naruto began to plan to sneak into the Hokage Residency. It couldn't be the hardest thing he'd ever done, but he was sure it wouldn't be the easiest, either. So hours later, after sneaking past the jonin guards and while the ANBU were changing stations, he snuck in. In the pitch black night, the moon hung shallowly in the sky above as Naruto lugged the heavy scroll out of the heavily chained cabinet that held multiple others as well. This one was on the top shelf, though, and the kanji clearly spelled out its name as well as the consequences of opening it. Nevertheless, he closed the doors and relocked the lock he had picked with a kunai minutes earlier. It had been easy, and he didn't notice the looming figure behind him that wore a cat mask, watching him dash off towards the forest.

* * *

Unrolling the great scroll, Naruto's eyes widened as the massive parchment laid exposed in front of him. It must've been fifty feet long, if not more, and Naruto didn't have a clue how he was going to learn one of these long ass techniques in the squandering hour he had left before Mizuki showed up. But he forced himself over to it, looking at the first jutsu on the list. _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Shadow Clone Technique) was the first one, and it sounded decently easy and not all that difficult. Looking at the hand seals, he was about to try it when something stilled his fingers from moving. Horse, rat, monkey, ram; that was it, only four hand seals, yet something guided his fingers into another set of seals. Dog, snake, rat, horse, ram, and much more; he knew the pattern, but his fingers only came together to form a 'T' shade as he released a great amount of chakra.

 _That's better_ , he thought, before realizing he didn't even know what he was doing. Energy lashed through his veins, chakra rising in a wave as it poured over him and suddenly he wasn't surrounded by trees but by the ocean and smiling faces and his sensei was teaching him and he was happy. When the high ended and he opened his eyes, he was in the same place he'd been before. The lush trees of Konoha surrounded him, and grass tickled his toes through his sandals, and he was back in Konoha instead of that village on the ocean. One new thing, though, was that there were about five perfect copies of himself blinking back at him. Panicking, he spiked his chakra and they all dispelled, but he had no idea what the hell that was.

As usual, the answer came unbidden to him. _Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Water Clone Technique).

Sighing, he looked down at the scroll and shrugged. Well, he could make a clone now so he guessed he'd call it a day and wait for Mizuki to get there. He still had a bad feeling about that, and there was that ever present voice in his head that told him he was in trouble, but he was used to being in trouble by now. It didn't really phase him, at this point. So when he felt a chakra presence above him, he automatically assumed it was Mizuki. It'd have to be, who else would know where the meeting place in the forest was. Mizuki was the 'test conductor' so he'd be the one to assure Naruto passed.

"It's all over now, Naruto."

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto leaped to his feet, "What're you doing here? I thought-"

"What am I doing here?" Iruka seemed incredulous, "Naruto, you stole the _forbidden_ seal. Why _wouldn't_ I be here? Everyone is looking for you-!"

"They make that big of a deal out of this test?" Unease settled into his stomach, and doubt lapped at him like the ocean does the shore, "Wow. I mean, I guess this was kinda unnecessary. Turns out I can make a clone! I was just gonna explain it to Mizuki-sensei once he got here but you beat him. You're quick, huh, sensei?"

"Test?" Iruka's eyebrows drew together, "What are you talking about, Naruto?"

"The test." He should've known, he should've known, he should've known, "If I learn a jutsu from this scroll, I can become a genin. Mizuki-sensei told me that's how it worked, you got an extra opportunity if you failed but your sensei still thought you had potential. Iruka-sensei? Are you okay?"

The man had grown exceedingly pale during Naruto's explanation, "Naruto-kun, we need to go to the Hokage! Right now, come one!"

"Naruto!" There was Mizuki, "Give me the scroll now! This is part of the test, some people in life are going to want you to fail. Iruka does. Give me the scroll, Naruto, and you'll be a shinobi."

Iruka's eyes grew wide as he gave Mizuki a furious stare, "Stop lying this instant, Mizuki! What are you thinking?"

"Come on, Naruto." The man was fiddling with the senbon in his hand, and when Iruka moved to grab the blond boy's shoulder he threw them straight towards the pair.

Iruka shoved Naruto behind him, senbon sticking out of him like a pin cushion as Mizuki laughed, "Give me the scroll, Naruto. I haven't got all night."

 _Traitor_. The voice in the back of his head growled with anger, hissing and spitting as Naruto watched Iruka-sensei's blood drip to the ground in small drops. _Just like Yuudai, kill him now before he destroys everything. Kill him now._ He was scared, his heart was beating way too fast, and yet his blood was boiling. He was angry, furious at Mizuki for tricking him and furious at himself for buying into it. He should've known. It was obvious, no one ever made genin if they failed the exam. He was so stupid, so oblivious. It'd get him killed one day. _Just as Yuudai struck me down for my blind sightedness._ He didn't want to die now, though, and he never wanted to see Iruka-sensei in pain again. It hurt his heart, made his chest ache to see the kind man bleeding because of him. _Just as my people bled for me._

His thoughts were blending with something else's, someone else's, and he watched in a daze as Mizuki jumped from the tree branch to land on the ground and began to walk towards them.

"Iruka doesn't want you to graduate, Naruto. Don't blow this for yourself."

"I already told you once to stop lying." Iruka growled, further placing himself in front of Naruto, "You'd better listen this time, _traitor_."

The white-haired man's face darkened, "Do you really want to talk about lies, Iruka? Do want to enter that territory?"

The brunette man's body seized, and he jerked in panic, "It is forbidden, and I will not allow you to speak of it!"

"Says the one who's blood is dripping to the ground." Mizuki shot Iruka a loathing look, and Naruto has never hated someone so much in his entire life, "Naruto, do you know why the village hates you?"

"Stop!" Iruka roared, "Naruto, do _not_ listen to him!"

"It's because the Kyuubi is sealed within you. The same beast that killed Iruka's parents has possessed your body. You are the nine tailed fox, Naruto, and I'm doing the village a favor by eliminating you here."

"Naruto, run!" Iruka staggered forwards, "Go now!"

"Why are you still protecting him?" Mizuki grabbed the fuma shuriken off his back, "He's a demon! He's the Jinchuriki to the Kyuubi!"

( _The woman had her vibrant hair arranged in two buns, tags hanging from both of them as she stood with her hands clasped together. A purple diamond marked her forehead, and her white kimono swayed in the village's wind._

 _"Mito-sama, it's an honor."_

 _He bowed towards her and watched her smile, "It is my honor to meet you, Amahiko-san. You are now the Sandaime Uzukage, correct."_

 _"Yes, Mito-sama." He inclined his head towards her with a wry grin, "My uncle grew tired of the paperwork."  
_

 _She clucked her tongue, "Tenma always was lazy. You've made a name for yourself, though._ Akai Kami _(The Red God), so I hear they've been calling you."_

 _At her raised eyebrow and calm disposition, he felt horribly belittled by her presence, "Well, they call me a lot of things."_

 _"I'm sure."_

 _He laughed, a little nervously if he was honest, and felt like he was two years old again and clutching his mother's skirts. This woman had sealed the nine tailed fox within her own body, she was a fuinjutsu master, she was the wife of the first Hokage. Sure, he was a fuinjutsu master too, but when this woman who was so many years his senior, this woman who survived the Feudal Era and came out on top, this woman with the audacity to seal the strongest of the Biju inside her own gut...when this woman looked at him, he felt like an ant._ )

Naruto blinked, and he was pulled back to reality when he heard Iruka-sensei grunt in pain and that's when he noticed he was now on the ground and Iruka hovered above him with a grimace of pain and sadness on his face. That's when the blond noticed the giant weapon sticking out of his sensei's back. All of a sudden he was in the rain again, and it was a fight or die situation and he wasn't going to die here and he wasn't going to let Iruka-sensei die here. Instincts took over and he scrambled out from under his sensei, blood boiling when he saw the man collapse to the ground before struggling to set upright. Turning his gaze on Mizuki, he felt a sick sort of pleasure curl in his gut when the man froze under his eyes.

"You aren't going to hurt Iruka-sensei, _traitor_." He spat the last word out with only the venom someone betrayed could, "You'll never hurt anyone in this village again!"

He said it with such an air of finality and confidence, and he never saw Iruka's astonished but proud look. Mizuki sneered, recovering from Naruto's cold gaze, and charged at him with a kunai in hand. Raising his hands, his fingers formed a few seals and the next thing he knew a wave of chakra flooded his body and he could taste the salty air and see his mother, red hair flowing loosely in the breeze and his siblings were there and he was _home_. Water swirled into existence, condensing out of nothing except the moisture in the air. Forming quickly, quicker than Mizuki could respond to, a large water dragon came crashing towards him with eyes glowing yellow.

" _Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu_ (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)!" Naruto thrust his hands forward, watching in solemn silence as Mizuki was thrown back by the force of the jutsu, falling into a tree and drowning in the water as it crashed down on him and tore him apart like a hurricane. Left in a huge puddle, crumpled on the ground and silent, Naruto wasn't sure if he wanted the man dead or not. Turning to see his sensei's wide eyes and the proud quirk of his mouth, Naruto decided he didn't care what the traitor's fate was. He cared that Iruka was safe, and right now the man had removed the giant weapon from his back but was still bleeding at an alarming rate.

"I-I'm sorry, sensei." Naruto knelt by the man, swallowing thickly, "I should've known."

"Did you...learn that in the scroll?" Iruka looked a bit confused, gesturing to Mizuki.

Naruto went with the easiest to explain answer, "Yeah."

The man seemed impressed, "I'm proud of you, Naruto-kun. I think...I think you've earned this."

The whiskered child's breath caught in his throat as his sensei reached up and untied his headband from his forehead. He held it out, and Naruto accepted it with reverence. This wasn't the shiny new ones every graduate got at the academy, no, but it meant so much more than those. It meant so much more than any person would ever know. Looking at Iruka with wide eyes, the blond boy blinked tears out of his eyes.

"I-thank you, sensei!"

"I'm not your sensei anymore, Naruto-kun. You're a genin now." His smile was pained but kind, "I want you to listen to me though, young man. You take everything that-that filth said and you ignore it! You are not-!"

"A demon. I know." His smile was plain, "I'm just the container. I've seen the seal before."

Iruka's eyes were wide from not only pain, "You...already knew?"

"No." Naruto admitted, "But I know about my clan. Whoever my dad was, it's not surprising he could work with seals. Any Uzumaki can, you know, and the seal on my stomach is definitely Uzumaki fuinjutsu."

Letting out an only slightly pained laugh, Iruka pulled the boy into a tight hug, "I'm proud of you, Naruto-kun."

( _"I'm proud of you, Amahiko-kun." Her violet eyes sparkled, and Tatsu Yoshida looked as though he'd just given her the moon and all the stars, "My own student becoming Uzukage. I'm not surprised, of course. You, Akane, and Raiden always had so much potential. So much, and now look at what you've gone and done."_

 _He smiled, his eyes slightly damp, "Thank you, sensei."_

 _He hadn't spent long under her tutelage, but she'd played such a big role in his life. His team, Team Tatsu, had a short-lived but successful career as genin. Bumped up to chunin only ten months after their graduation, and making jonin not long after that, the Yoshida woman had only had so much time to teach them. Teach them she did, however, and none of them would ever forget her kindness or her sternness. The way she saw them as individuals when they all came from such big families that normally the clan was just blurred together. Amahiko and Akane especially, both of them being Uzumaki if only distantly related. She helped them with a kind hand and taught them what they had to do to succeed in the shinobi world. Trust your teammates, never give up, and be prepared for anything._

 _"Don't thank me, kid." Her smile was infectious, "Do you know how good of bragging material this is? Shoji can shut his mouth now about how his student got a jonin promotion. You three did that years ago. Now one of mine is the head medic at the hospital, one is a fuinjutsu master, and one is the Uzukage. Every other jonin sensei out there can suck my dick, cause I think I win at this point."_

 _They heard a snort from behind them and turned to see Tenma Uzumaki, the Nidaime Uzukage, for once just wearing normal shinobi clothing rather than the ceremonial Uzukage garb that Amahiko now donned. He shook his head, not put off at all by her language._

 _"Watch it, Tatsu." He rolled his eyes at her, "Kiddies might overhear you."_

 _She smiled, or rather smirked, "Sorry, you're not Uzukage anymore. Hiko-hime, you got a problem with my vocabulary?"_

 _He twitched slightly at the nickname, but shook his head nevertheless, "Of course not sensei."_

 _"Oi!" Tenma protested, "_ I'm _sensei!"_

 _"Hah!" Tatsu smiled triumphantly, "I'll always be his sensei, I taught him as a genin. It forms a special bond, you know?"_

 _"I'm his uncle though!"_

 _Amahiko just laughed.)_


	3. Generations of Genin

Iruka-sensei smiled at them all, "Today, you begin your journey as shinobi of Konoha. Now, I'm sure you've heard me say this a million times, but I'm proud of you all and know you'll make everyone in this village proud as well. If a few of you can just grow up a little..."

The last part was murmured, barely audible, but Naruto heard it anyways and bit back a laugh. He knew it was directed to himself, maybe Kiba and probably Shikamaru for being a lazy-ass. Fidgeting in his seat, as usual, Naruto used the tips of his fingertips to trace fuinjutsu into the desk. One day he was going to walk into a shop and buy some parchment and ink without getting kicked out. Sadly, he couldn't see that day in his near future. Maybe his sensei would get some for him? He could try and ask, and he hoped the jonin would be empathetic to his plight. The blond boy didn't notice Sasuke sending him looks out the corner of his eye.

The hell is the dobe doing? He thought, raising an eyebrow silently. The whiskered kid was tracing shapes and squiggles into the wood of their desks with such intensity it was astonishing. Sasuke didn't even know the idiot could concentrate for that long, but his main question was what the other boy was drawing. It looked nonsensical to him, and it was probably of no use to him seeing as Naruto was dead last for a reason. He had no skill in the ways of the shinobi, and his grades were so poor it was disgraceful. The Uchiha had no idea how he had graduated, but he was fairly certain the Uzumaki wouldn't make it past his first C-rank.

"Next, Team 7 will consist of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura-"

"No!" The wail of despair cut Iruka off abruptly, the pinkette staring at the academy teacher in horror, "Not Naruto-baka!"

He narrowed his eyes, "Team 7 will consist of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Your jonin instructor will be Hatake Kakashi."

She perked up considerably, and this time the wail of despair came from Ino who looked angrier than ever, "Are you kidding me? Forehead's not good enough to be on Sasuke-kun's team!"

"Hah!" Sakura fist pumped, "Take that Ino-pig!"

The class broke out into chatter, causing Iruka's eyebrow to twitch. Naruto cringed and braced himself for the impact of the yell.

"Will everyone shut up! You're all genin of Konoha, act like it and grow up!"

Instantly quiet, the class stared ahead in fear of angering their former sensei even more, "Now, Team 8 will consist of Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino. Your jonin instructor will be Yuhi Kurenai."

After that, Naruto sat back in his chair and ignored the rest of the team assignments. He was happy, of course he was happy. He had Sakura-chan on his team, and he was thinking that might just be worth dealing with the mopey bastard. Soon, the pink haired girl would see Naruto was much better than Sasuke, that Naruto actually deserved her love and affection. Still, as he looked at her and the way she stared at Sasuke with hearts in her eyes as she practically drooled, he felt an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. It all felt so wrong, both of his teammates did. None of the held affection for each other, they weren't even acquaintances let alone friends. The closest bond Naruto had with Sasuke was a rival, but the Uchiha didn't even take that seriously. Sure, he liked Sakura-chan, but she blew him off all the time and hit him a lot. Trying to hide his discomfort, he closed his eyes and tried to calm the unsettling feeling that just kept growing.

 _("Uzumaki Amahiko, Uzumaki Akane, and Hikoki Raiden." Their teacher smiled in the direction of the three young children, "Your sensei will be Yoshida Tatsu."_

 _Naruto whipped around to look at Akane, his distant cousin on his mother's side, and the vibrantly red haired girl beamed in response. Raiden, too, gave them both a small smile that screamed excitement. As soon as class let out they dashed out of the academy, sailing past their parents who stood in the cluster with everyone else waiting for their children. Of course, Tsubaki Uzumaki was given much personal space as she was practically Uzushio royalty, but her cousin by marriage stood close beside her as the two women gossiped. Akane's mother looked nothing like his own, with light brown hair pulled into one messy bun and eyes a deep burgundy color. Amahiko glanced at them in passing, before noticing the male that stood a bit behind his mother that looked nearly excited as Amahiko himself felt._

 _"Tou-san!"_

 _The Uzumaki boy flew towards his father, the man catching him in a hug easily. Tsubaki snorted slightly, a grin curving her lips as her and Akane's mother shared an eye roll. Ryota Mori-Uzumaki smiled and gave his son a quick hug before returning Amahiko to the ground and ruffling his hair gently. He was a tall man, taller than even his wife, and had a charming smile fitted on his face. Black hair and tanned skin with rich, brown eyes, he looked nothing like his eight red haired children and fiery wife. From no prominent clan, the child of two civilians with no shinobi background, it amazed most when they find out he married Tsubaki Uzumaki, clan head and ferocious warrior. Then again, if you saw him on the battlefield the confusion would quickly be cleared up._

 _"Tou-san, you made it!" Amahiko smiled as bright as the sun, "I thought you'd be gone another week!"_

 _"I hurried home." Ryota gave a matching smile, "I've never missed a graduation, I'm not about to start now!")_

Naruto was spaced out, and Sasuke had been watching his blank face for the past few minutes when all of a sudden the blue eyes cleared and the Uchiha saw sadness sweep over the blonde boy like a smothering blanket. Sasuke had seen his fair share of smiles the boy always had to offer, and this was by far the longest time the Uzumaki had gone without keeping up his sunny disposition. He seemed downtrodden at times, but within seconds he was but to smiling like an idiot. Now, though, he didn't even try. It cast a somber light on the day, to say the least, and Sasuke stamped down any amount of concern he had for the other boy.

The students sat and waited as their respective jonin came to pick up the groups. Team after team left, and soon Team 7 was alone in the small classroom when even Iruka left to get lunch. Naruto sat against the wall, mind racing and mood still dampened from his earlier fantasy. Ignoring Sakura for once, not that the pinkette even noticed, Naruto sat in a comatose like state. Reliving fake memories in his head, he was none the wiser to the Uchiha looking at him with suspicion until the door opened rather violently and a man with gravity defying hair and a mask covering his lower face entered the room.

Kakashi blinked, looking at the three, "How should I put this? My first impression of you is...you're boring."

Naruto blinked, turning his attention to his now sensei, and forced a big smile. Sakura blinked at the man, lips curving down into a frown but refraining from speaking a word, and Sasuke just sneered at the jonin. Kakashi coughed into his hand, "Just meet me on the roof in two minutes."

Then he was gone in a puff of smoke.

"Wha-? Two minutes!" Sakura echoed, "Two minutes! He can't be serious! That's five flights of stairs up!"

"We're genin now." Sasuke stood, hurrying out the door, "Get used to it or you'll be useless."

Stunned for a moment, the girl blinked then pressed her mouth into a hard line, "Useless..."

Grumbling after Sasuke, Naruto was left alone in the room. The blonde frowned, frustrated. There was no way in hell he'd make it in two minutes going up the stairs! Especially because his teammates were already ahead of them, and that on top of being late would look even worse. There had to be another way. Walking over to the window, he swung it open and looked up. Sure enough, five floors up the roof was practically taunting him.

 _("Climb the building." Tatsu smiled viciously, "No hands, feet only."_

 _"Are you, uh..." Raiden gestured at the wall with one hand, "You gonna tell us how?"_

 _"Nope!" Their sensei laughed slightly, "Figure it out boys and...well, girl."_

 _Akane sighed, turning to her teammates, "Listen guys. I've seen a lot of ninja walk on walls and stuff. What is a resource we have that could help us cement ourselves to the walls and prevent us from falling?"_

 _Amahiko blinked, "Glue?"_

 _"No..." Raiden actually laughed, "She means paste! Right?"_

 _"No!" Akane sighed, "Chakra! You use chakra!"_

 _"Oh.." Amahiko frowned, "Wouldn't that blow us off the building?")_

Naruto shook himself out of the fantasy. Frowning, he sighed, debating wether he could trust the information. He never recalled being told anything like that before, but then again no one really told the orphan anything. The water jutsu from earlier had worked just fine, hadn't it? As long as he didn't use too much he should be fine, right? Iruka-sensei would kill him if he hurt the academy building, so that was out of the question. Sliding out the window to stand on the sill, he steadied himself with one hand and crawled to the top of the shutters, putting one foot on the smooth outside wall, and trying to channel a small amount of chakra to the soles of his feet. Feeling his foot suction to the side of the building, he carefully planted one foot firmly after the other like second nature.

As he walks vertically upwards, he swore as the sunlight blocked his eyes he could see twin, blood red pigtails swaying in the wind. A girl with emerald eyes turned to look over her shoulder, smiling brightly and gesturing for him to hurry. A boy stood beside her, waiting for him with a warm smile on his face. A medic bag was around his waist and brunette hair fell into his eyes slightly as the two of them looked down at Naruto. Gasping, the blonde boy nearly lost his foothold and almost fell, but he kept himself steady and blinked the images from his eyes. Was he going crazy? Because he felt like he was going crazy.

Finally reaching the top, he practically threw himself onto the floor of the roof, slightly exhausted from both the walk up and dealing with his ever declining mental state. Kakashi was standing, reading a little orange book when Naruto fell to the ground, and the blonde saw his sensei blink, shocked, before checking a timer and giving him a slight eye smile.

"Only forty-seven seconds over. Good job, Naruto." The man scratched his mask covered cheek, "But, uh, when did you learn to do that?"

The blonde boy looked up from being sprawled on the ground, "I watch the ninja train a lot. I picked up a few things."

Kakashi thought back to when he evaded the other jonin as a child while he himself was still in ANBU. It would make sense. Shrugging, he got his book back out and waited for Sakura and Sasuke to burst through the roof door. Ignoring Naruto's struggle to pull himself off the floor, Kakashi continued to read and casted occasional glances towards his time which was steadily rising. Suddenly, the door slammed open and one Sasuke Uchiha sprinted through, drenched in sweat and panting slightly, but otherwise keeping his cool. Immediately, his gaze was drawn to the exhausted orange genin on the floor. Caught off guard momentarily, he blinked in shock and opened his mouth to ask before a pink blur nearly barreled him over. Sakura looked a lot worse than Sasuke, face red and expression screaming exhaustion and anger.

"At least...we beat Naruto-baka, Sasuke-kun!" She smiled widely before the expression faded when Sasuke sneered at her then looked away. Her eyes followed his gaze and landed on Naruto, who was now sitting up, and her expression turned outraged, "N-Naruto! How dare you!"

"How dare I what?" The blonde boy tilted his head slightly, confused, "I haven't even asked you to dinner yet!"

"You cheated!" She snapped, releasing Sasuke, much to his relief, and crossing her arms.

"No I didn't!" Naruto grouched, standing up, "I walked up!"

"We started before you!" She glared harsher, "Now you're lying as well!"

"Or he used chakra to walk up the wall." Kakashi looked up, seemingly bored of the bickering, "Maybe you two should work on that."

She looked ready to snap before remembering this was her sensei and reigned herself back in, "Hai, sensei."

He raised an eyebrow, "Alright, now why don't you all introduce yourselves."

"Introduce ourselves? Umm...what should we say?" Sakura frowned.

"Likes, dislike, hobbies, dreams for the future. Things like that." Kakashi closed his book and looked at them all.

"Why don't you go first, sensei?" Sakura smiled brightly, "Show us what to do!"

"Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and dislike...there are a few. I have a lot of hobbies. Never really thought about any dreams."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched, "Well, that was useless."

"At least we learned his name." Naruto shrugged.

"Which you would've known already if you paid attention-!"

"Alright, blondie. You're up." The silver haired jonin interrupted the oncoming fight.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" The blonde smiled brightly, "I like ramen and the ocean! I dislike...well, traitors. My hobbies are training and beating my record of bowels of ramen eaten at Ichiraku's! My dreams for the future are to become the strongest Hokage ever and to protect the village no matter what! Oh, and being a Fūinjutsu master! That'd be cool too! Speaking of that, hey, sensei, would you mind getting me some paper and ink?"

Kakashi blinked at the word vomit that was spewed at him in such a short amount of time. He liked ramen, that was expected, but the ocean? When had the boy ever even seen the ocean? Maybe in picture. He was also slightly concerned about the traitors comment. Maybe the encounter with Mizuki had affected Naruto more than they though, as concerning as the prospect was. And hold on, a Fūinjutsu master? Maybe it was hereditary, Kakashi though, mentally laughing. With him being an Uzumaki, it wouldn't be surprising.

"Okay, then. Pinky, you're next."

She pursed her lips, "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like Sasuke-kun. My dream for the future is, well..."

She trailed off, giggling slightly for a moment before, "My hobbies are beating Ino-pig and reading."

"Your dislikes?" Naruto asked, looking around Sasuke to see her glare at him.

"You really want to know that?"

"Broody, your introduction." Kakashi interrupted once more, mentally sighing. A fangirl. Of course he would get a fucking fangirl.

"Hn. I am Uchiha Sasuke. I like becoming stronger. I dislike a lot of things. My hobbies are training. My dream is to restore my clan and one day become powerful enough to kill a certain man." He frowned slightly, looking at Kakashi as seriously as possible.

At least his file was spot on, just like the Haruno girl's, Kakashi thought. Naruto's was missing just a few key points, in his opinion. Everyone said the Uchiha was brooding and hell bent on vengeance, and Kakashi himself would have to agree. Hopefully he would open up sooner rather than later, but right now he seemed too much of a flight risk for the village. One tempting offer of power and a chance to kill Itachi and he'd be gone. Kakashi nodded, pocketing his book, "Well, it's late. Tomorrow meet at training ground seven by five in the morning. I'd advise against breakfast; you might puke. Now, you're dismissed."

Before he even had the chance to ask Sakura to get ramen with him, she was off trailing after Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei had shunshined away. Sighing, Naruto walked away from the academy, forehead protector weighing heavily on his head. All his life he wanted to become a ninja, to make people acknowledge him. He wanted to be more, and now he had the chance yet he still felt like someone had hollowed him out. He had been living a fantasy in his dreams, and now it was coming to life in front of him. Except, only he could see the imaginary friends and family he had dreamed of since he was a child. Reaching his apartment, he wretched open the door and immediately passed out in bed. He had hardly gotten sleep since the Mizuki incident, and he was dead tired.

 _("Don't ever fucking do that again!"_

 _"Akane, you know I-!"_

 _"She's right, you know. You always charge in, all by yourself, but you don't have to."_

 _"You're not alone Hiko. We'll always be here for you, Raiden and I, just rely on us. Please."_

 _"...Okay."_

 _"You promise?"_

 _"I promise, truly. Promise of a lifetime, I swear.")_


	4. Downward Spiral

_("Tenma said you're doing well." Tsubaki smiled, looking down at her son as Amahiko drafted and discarded many different seals, "You're on your way to becoming a master, he says. Even faster than he himself learned."_

 _The boy stilled for a moment, "I've only been this apprentice for two years now."_

 _The red haired woman smiled, but her eyes seemed tired beyond belief, "No matter what, I'll be proud of you. Even if everything goes to hell again."_

 _"Tensions are rising." Amahiko pursed his lips, closing his eyes for a moment, "Oji-san fears another war is to come."_

 _"The first one ended not long ago." Tsubaki frowned slightly, "So soon a second is predicted?"_

 _Her son looked up a her with grim eyes, "That's what he and the council are preparing for. I don't know if I should tell you this, but I am. You're my mom."_

 _The red headed woman laughed, "I'm sure my brother already assumed you would alert me, that's why he hasn't bothered to notify me himself, the lazy ass that he is."_

 _Amahiko smiled slightly before looking at his work again, "I want to figure these seals out, and soon. I think they could help if another war is to come."_

 _Glancing at the symbols marring the paper, Tsubaki let out a low whistle, "Sage, that's some complicated stuff. You're fiddling with chakra sealing?"_

 _"Yes." He pursed his lips, "Akane and I have tossed around the idea for awhile now. The Uzumaki have vast amounts of chakra, and much of it is unused in a typical battle, or wasted by putting too much into small techniques that don't require it. These seals would allow-" )_

The alarm blared, making Naruto jump out of his dream. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes and discarded the faux memories to instead get dressed and head out the door. He still had forty minutes until five by the time he was done dressing, and the instant ramen sat in the cabinet called out to him. There sensei had said not to eat, but...honestly, when did he ever pass up ramen? Ten minutes later he was out the door, stomach full and wondering why the hell their sensei had told them to be at the training ground so early. By the time he arrived, he saw Sakura was the only one already present, leaned against a tree and looking half asleep.

"Sakura-chan!" He smiled as she jerked, seemingly waking up, "You're here early!"

She scowled, "I wanted to make sure I wouldn't be late."

"Not saying it's a bad thing." Naruto shrugged, "I got up early enough to eat and then headed here."

Her face flushed red, "Naruto-baka! Sensei said not to eat before this activity!"

Banshee, a voice in his head whispered, and Naruto couldn't bring himself to disagree with it for once. He was pretty sure if she kept yelling at him like that, he'd need to invest in some ear plugs.

"When has ramen ever hurt me? Never." Naruto shrugged, "Besides, I don't wanna be all sluggish and slow because I'm starving all day. Who knows how long this thing'll last? I'll take my chances with puking, better that than an empty stomach for hours on end."

Sakura blinked, "I...I guess you're not wrong. I never thought about that."

Naruto shrugged before looking at the bag sat beside her, "Hey, Sakura-chan, would you happen to have some scrolls and ink?"

"Hm?" She blinked, "Yeah, plenty. My parents got me a lot of stuff before I graduated. They went to a civilian shop that sold shinobi supplies and picked up whatever they though I'd need."

He brightened, "Um, could you maybe give me some? I'll pay you back for how much it was!"

She frowned, glaring, "Did you forget to buy some? Kami, Naruto, you have to be responsible! Quit-!"

"I can't go into the stores."

Stopping, Sakura looked at him, "What?"

The blond boy looked away, "The shopkeepers won't let me in. I have some ideas for...things...but I can't get any ink or scroll paper."

Hell, they were teammates now. He could trust her, right? It was Sakura, after all, the girl he'd liked since forever and longer. Maybe she'd be understanding, or maybe he was getting his hopes up. He chanced a glance at her face, but couldn't really tell what her frown meant. Was she unhappy with him, or the shopkeepers?

"Why would they-?" Sakura frowned, "Is it-Is it because you're a, you know, an orphan?"

Sighing, Naruto nodded, figuring it'd be easier than explaining the whole demon-sealed-in-his-gut thing, "I think so."

"That's so mean!" She frowned, "They don't stop Sasuke-kun from buying things!"

"He's from a prestigious clan." Naruto frowned, thinking of how everyone fawned over the last Uchiha, "He gets...special benefits."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek before huffing, "Here. Whenever you need more, let me know. Just...pay me back, okay?"

She dug out some scrolls and ink from her bag, and Naruto saw a hell of a lot of stuff in there. Kunai, shuriken, scrolls, ink, and even and extra headband ribbon in black. Envy shot through him, wondering what it was like to have parents who cared that much. They might not have known what the hell they were buying at all, but they cared enough to try. Meanwhile, he'd been kicked out of the orphanage at six and had only gotten an apartment because the Sandaime felt bad for him. Even now he hated to bother the old Hokage who had already done so much for him. He was a genin now, and he accepted the reason people hated him. They didn't understand and feared what was different, and the hated what they feared. Maybe he'd be able to go into shinobi-only stores now. Surely they would get it, right? Despite his envy of his teammates, he accepted the offered scrolls and ink with the most sincere, and nearly heartbreaking, smile Sakura had ever seen.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. First allowance I get from jiji or the first mission check we get, I'll pay you back! Just let me know how much!"

Smiling a bit back, she nodded, "You're welcome, Naruto."

He played around with some ideas swirling around in his head, just itching to get home and break out the brush he found at the drugstore where he got most of his food. He was pretty sure it was for paint, but the little old lady never begrudged him from going in there and that was pretty much the only place he felt safe shopping. Mentally tracing out the dark lines of ink, he had vague images from his dream. Kanji for the elements, with a series of swirling designs wrapped around them in an intricate and almost beautiful way. Lines curved here and there, each design meaning something that Naruto innately knew deep inside himself. He was wrapped up in his thoughts, that all of a sudden shrill shriek had him jumping to his feet quicker than he knew what was going on. His hand twitched at his side, reaching for something that wasn't there, and he only relaxed when he realized that Kami-damned noise had come from Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun!" She did it again, waving vigorously as though the Uchiha didn't already see her bright pink hair and Naruto'd bright orange jumpsuit from a mile away, "We're over here!"

"Hn." The boy grunted as he sat down, a little ways away from both of them. That didn't stop Sakura though, because soon she was up and glued to his side as always.

Embarrassing behavior. Akane would never dream of acting like that. Naruto blinked at the foreign thoughts, sighing and leaning his head back against the tree he leaned against. His slowly crumbling mental state aside, their sensei would be arriving soon and the faster they got done, the faster Naruto could rush home and get his hands inky. However, five came and passed and soon the next half hour mark went by, prompting Sakura to growl slightly.

"He's not gonna be two hours late again is he?" Sakura grouched, fiddling with her hair to pass the time, "Because if he is, we're gonna have a problem."

No, Kakashi-sensei wasn't two hours late. He was four. The jonin appeared in a small puff of smoke and leaves, a lazy eye smile directed at all of his irritated and near homicidal genin.

"Yo!"

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto both roared together, making the man shrug and wave a hand around like it was nothing.

"Just got lost on the road of life."

Eyebrows raising to unbelievable heights, Sakura trembled slightly, looking ready and fully happy to throttle their sensei to a pulp. Naruto cringed, being on the wrong side of her punches was not a fun time, and he'd been the one receiving them enough to know.

"Now, as I'm sure you know, of the nine teams that graduated, only three are actually chosen to become genin. This test is to see if you will pass and continue on to be an active shinobi in Konoha's ranks or head back to the academy to try again until you turn fifteen and automatically enter the reserves."

"W-what?" Sakura's eyes widened, "But we graduated!"

"Which means nothing if you fail this test." Kakashi continued to give them that same, damned annoying eye smile, "Statistically you have a sixty-six percent chance of failure. Now, for this test all you have to do is get these bells from me by noon. If you manage to do so, you pass!"

"Eh, sensei?" Naruto looked at him funny, "There are only two bells there."

Kakashi nodded, "Only two of you will actually remain on this team. The one without a bell will be sent back to the academy."

Even Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at that, and Sakura's face paled slightly. Naruto, however, scrunched his eyebrows together slightly. When in the history of ever had Konoha had a two genin team with one jonin as a sensei? Never, as far as he knew. Jiji had taught the sannin, for that he was certain, and every genin team he had ever seen running around the village doing D-ranks had three genin grouped together. When I went to Konoha with kaa-chan to Konoha as a child before the first war, even the Nidaime had three genin on his team. Blinking, Naruto decided Kakashi-sensei was totally bullshitting them. If he's learned one this over the years, it's that he might be going crazy but the voice in his head is almost always right.

Kakashi watched his potential team's faces, Sasuke looking quite shocked and Sakura quite pale. Naruto, though, interested him. At first, he seemed plain confused as though he didn't understand. Then, with a knowing glint in his eye, he smiled a little to himself as though he had figured out a puzzle. The jonin wondered if Naruto had actually figured out the plan, and why the orange wearing graduate had out of all of them. Surely Sasuke or even Sakura, said to be very book smart in her file, would have figured it out before the dead last? It figured his sensei's son would see right past what he was doing.

"You'll need to come at me with intent to kill to get these bells." Kakashi laughed internally at Sakura's face when he said that, "Your time starts...now."

Instantly, Sasuke took off sprinting to the trees while Sakura ran the other way. The jonin wondered if that was the first time she'd ever ran away from him on purpose. Naruto, however, stood in place, looking at Kakashi with a calculating eyes. A little too calculating in the silver haired nin's opinion, especially for the dead last of the year. Watching carefully for a reaction, Kakashi was casual as he pulled out his little orange book and appeared to turn his attention away from the blond.

"Are..." Naruto scrunched his eyebrows together slightly, "Are you...reading pornography instead of paying attention to me, dattebayo?"

Kakashi only turned the page. Naruto's eye twitched.

 _("Ugh!" Tatsu scrunched her nose up in disgust, "I can't believe they sell this shit in stores!"_

 _The book that had garnered her fury was some sleazy romance novel, depicting a half naked woman hanging off a muscular man on the cover. In there corner it indicated it was for adults only, making the three cringe. Akane especially, because what kind of person would read that dirty stuff?_

 _"That's just wrong." Raiden frowned, "Couldn't kids get ahold of it with it just sitting there?"_

 _"Ugh. Even the title is nauseating. 'Masumi's Steamy Nights'."_

 _"Maybe she just went to a sauna?" Amahiko scratched his cheek at the looks he got, "I'm trying to be positive, here!"_

 _"Oh, Hiko-hime." Tatsu shook her head, shooting her hand out to cover his eyes, "So innocent, so sweet, so pure! Come, children, we must protect his innocence!"_

 _Raiden and Akane followed their sensei, who still had her hand clamped over Amahiko's eyes as she dragged him out of the store, snickering and snorting behind the two.)_

Twitching again, Naruto's face flushed red from embarrassment that wasn't even his.

"So you're a pervert, dattebayo!" Naruto snapped, "I can't believe this!"

Kakashi simply turned another page. Naruto knew the man was only egging him on, trying to get him to attack alone. Taking a deep breath, the blond was about to turn tail and run to find his teammates and explain when Kakashi let out a giggle. The man was giggling as he read pornography in public. Blinking, Naruto stared at the man, absolutely stunned.

He must die, if only for Akane and Tatsu.

Before Naruto really knew what he was doing, he was grabbing a few of his shitty, second hand kunai out of his pouch with each and he then clapped his hands together.

"Fūton: Reppūshō (Wind Release: Gale Palm)!" He shoved his hands towards Kakashi, the kunai slipping of the tips of his fingers with the powerful gale that swept over the area.

Evading the attack with ease, Kakashi's one visible eye widened just a fraction. This was the dead last? The dead last as in the worst of the graduating class? Damn, they've gotta work on keeping those files up to date and actually accurate. The kunai that had been released flew straight past him and both hit the same tree, at least half the blade embedding itself in the wood. Blinking slightly in shock, Kakashi felt the boy's chakra signature flee from behind him and, sure enough, when he turned around the blond boy had already fled without a trace. If Kakashi wasn't good at sensing chakra, he's almost be impressed. Still...

"Dead last my ass..." Kakashi grumbled, standing in the middle of the tactical dust storm Naruto's gale wind had kicked up. The pages of his book were dirty now, and he was not happy about it. Maybe he'd talk to Iruka late about the files they kept on the students, and maybe he'd ask who the hell wrote them because fuck were they inaccurate.

Meanwhile, Naruto sprinted into the forest as soon as Kakashi had turned his back. As soon as he felt he was alone, he knew he had to find Sasuke and Sakura soon so they could make a plan. He felt the strong chakra presence he knew to be Kakashi, and there was a much smaller one going the opposite direction of him. That had to be someone. Setting off into a run, he soon caught sight of the dark, duck ass hair that he knew belonged to their one and only Uchiha.

"Sasuke!" He hissed loudly, making the raven haired boy stop to turn and glare, "Sasuke, I need to tell you something!"

The Uchiha halted, allowing Naruto to catch up, "Make it quick, usuratonkachi. And lower your voice, I don't need him finding me because you don't know how to whisper."

"He's tricking us!" Naruto rushed the words, "Think about it! There are only ever three man genin teams plus a sensei! This is a teamwork test, you know how much Iruka-sensei harped on teamwork and the will of fire in class! It makes sense if you think about it!"

The Uchiha scowled deeper, "It's a trick test. If we don't work together to get the bells we automatically fail."

"Exactly!"

"Quiet. Now we need to find Sakura."

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?" Sakura fidgeted behind the bushes they were in, "What if he's telling the truth? What if only two of us pass?"

Naruto sighed, "Listen, if on the off chance he ends up being truthful, I'll give you and Sasuke the bells. Okay?"

The pinkette looked at him wide eyed, "You'd do that?"

"Sure, why not." Naruto frowned, "Then I'd graduate next year and maybe get a not crazy sensei."

Sakura seemed satisfied with that and turned back to where they saw Kakashi through the bushes. Sasuke looked at his two teammates, "Sakura, do you have the kunai and shuriken?"

"Yes."

"Do you know when to throw them?"

"As soon as Naruto does his ninjutsu after yours."

"Dobe, are you sure you can do your ninjutsu?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "I did it earlier, teme."

"If you say so." Sasuke said before shooting out of the bushes.

"Ah!" Kakashi eye-smiled once again, "Finally some action! I thought you were going to hide in the bushes all day."

Sasuke breezed through his hand seals at top speed, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!"

Naruto was already slapping his palms together and diving from the bushes with Sakura when Sasuke began to expel a rather large fireball from his mouth. Kakashi smiled slightly as he stepped to the side to dodge it when Naruto pushed forward his hands, "Fūton: Reppūshō (Wind Release: Gale Palm)!"

The oxygen of the blowing wind acted like gasoline on a campfire. The fireball spread out into a solid wall of fire as soon as it was on top of Kakashi, the man's eyes widening at the ball transforming into a blazing curtain as soon as it began to pass him. Sakura threw the kunai and shuriken into the flames at the vague spot she had last seen Kakashi, and the three genin stood waiting for the flames to clear over the man. When everything died down, Kakashi looked relatively unharmed, he was a jonin after all, but he was looking at the charred and burnt book he held in shock.

"But...Jiraiya-sama...signed this copy..."

Sasuke looked at the jonin before looking back and nodding and the three genin rushed the currently-grieving-over-his-porn man, Sakura aiming a weak kick to his head which was easily dodged. Sasuke went straight for the throat and also missed, but Naruto completely bypassed the jonin and dove by his side, falling into the scorched dirt and quickly bouncing back up. Kakashi looked back in disbelief.

"Ah, there's the dead last coming out in you. Surely I'm not that fast, Naruto?"

"You weren't his target." Sasuke sounded far too smug for the jonin's liking.

"Yeah, these were!" Naruto tossed the bells over where Sasuke and Sakura were waiting to both catch one.

Kakashi blinked, loosing all semblance of brain function for a moment, before he looked back at Naruto, "Giving up you spot on the team? Probably for the best, as you're the-"

"Cut the crap." Sasuke glared, folding his arms, "We know it's a teamwork test. There are only three man genin teams in Konoha, not two. We're not stupid. Well...two of us aren't stupid."

"Oi!" Naruto snapped, glaring at the raven who glared back, "I'm the one who told you about it being about teamwork!"

"Clearly Sasuke-kun already knew." Sakura sniffed.

"The hell he did-!"

"Regardless, we figured it out." Coal black eyes stared at their sensei, "So?"

Kakashi's eye twitched, "It's a start."

* * *

When Kakashi walked into the Hokage's office, slightly scorched and holding a piece of charcoal in his hands, Asuma and Kurenai nearly fell down. The jonin simply got in line with the rest of the potential senseis, disregarding Sarutobi's curious look.

"Team 1?"

"Fail, Hokage-sama."

On and on it went, fail after fail until...

"Team 7?"

The Hokage had already marked the team as a fail when Kakashi shocked the living hell out of them all, "Pass."

Sarutobi looked up, "Pass?"

"Pass, Hokage-sama."

He cleared his throat slightly, "Ah...forgive me for asking but...how?"

Kakashi's eye twitched for the thousandth time that day, "Naruto figured out it was a test of teamwork. Apparently Sasuke has been practicing his fire ball jutsu and Naruto has a wind release. Who knew?"

Everyone in the room winced.


	5. A Hurricane

Naruto let his hand guide itself over the scroll, the ink taking its form as the Uzumaki allowed the brush to paint intricate lines in patterns ancient and old. A line here, connect it to the heart of the seal, add the swirl wrapped around the kanji. Eventually the voice in his head became his own as he spoke the language of fūinjutsu to himself as he detailed the scroll in front of him. Smiling slightly as he completed the last details, he ensured he had enough ink before he began. Stripping off his pajama top, he began at the top of his shoulder and wrote the kanji fire. Hours later he was still following the detailed plan he had made, using it like a map to guide his brush along his skin. The inner workings of the seal swirled around his arm in a spiral, stopping just above his elbow. The kanji for fire, earth, and lightning were the largest symbols featured in the seal and all placed where Naruto had easy access.

Taking a deep breath and praying to Kami this worked because fuck if his hand didn't hurt, Naruto created pressed his hands together and spiked his chakra. The symbols glowed a bright white momentarily before fading to a dark brown, the color of dried ink. Lifting his hand, he lightly touched one of the seals, wondering if it would come off, but nothing transferred onto his fingertip. Everything had gone as planned, he thought, relieved. At least, he thought so before his entire vision blacked out.

* * *

He woke up in a sewer. Not a nice, clean sewer, but a nasty ass one with dirty water on the floor and everything. Bolting upright, he jumped to his feet and immediately his gaze landed on the giant cage towards the front of what he realized was his subconscious. After all, he didn't think any old sewer in Konoha would house the Kyūbi, of all fucked up things. Blinking, Naruto pinned the fox down with his eyes as he took a step forward, frowning slightly. As he approached the cage, large claws shot out of the bars trying to reach towards him. Blinking, the Uzumaki frowned deeper.

"The Kyūbi..." Naruto looked around him, "No wonder you're so grumpy. I would be too if I was trapped in this hell hole."

The fox paused, looking down on his with red eyes filled with disdain, **"My jailor arrives. You have more guts than the ones that came before."**

Mito-sama, Naruto thinks, looking up at the fox. No way he had more guts than that woman, she was probably one of the most powerful and brave shinobi he had ever come face to face with. Pausing, Naruto froze completely. Face to face...he had never met anyone with that name. He had never met any of the fox's previous containers. Taking a breath in through his nose and out through his mouth, he tried to calm his racing pulse. It was getting worse, definitely a lot worse. How soon did he have before he completely lost his mind?

 **"Loosing your will so soon? Pathetic."** The beast spat down at him, **"At least the red haired pests had a bit more fire."**

Snarling, Naruto glared at the fox, "You're the one in my fucking head, dattebayo! You tell me what the hell is wrong!"

The fox blinked, unimpressed, **"What is wrong? Besides you being a sniveling, disgusting whelp of a ninja?"**

"Listen! I'm losing my mind!" The blond yelled, "I'm going completely whacko! I need you to tell me if you're the voice! Then I'll feel slightly less insane in the whole I-have-a-split-personality way, and more in the whole demonic-possession way!"

 **"Voice in your head? I assure you that blasted Yondaime ensured that wasn't possible."** Red tendrils of chakra seeped under the bars of the cage towards Naruto, **"Why? Having some personal issues? Maybe I could take care of the voices in your head by insuring you have no head at all."**

Flinging himself back right as the chakra leaped towards him, Naruto expected to be speared by it at the least. Maybe splattered on the walls of this dingy sewer if he wasn't so lucky. However, he cracked open his eyes, seeing something that kind of made him want to vomit. Pure white chains stuck out of his stomach, pinning the tendrils of red to the ground. Touching one felt cold, almost, but it didn't hurt like he expected the bright links to. Staring at the marvel, he looked up to see the great tailed beast snarling at him.

 **"Like vixen like kit."** The fox growled out, **"All you Uzumaki are the same."**

"I don't think you understand." Naruto spoke slowly, staring at the chains protruding frown himself, "I don't know what the fuck is going on in my life anymore."

 **"Why do I feel as though I'm not your largest concern?"** The fox seemed almost insulted, roaring out, **"I'm the strongest of the nine biju! I can level villages, kill thousands!"**

"And you're sealed inside my gut." Naruto snapped, "Right now my most pressing concern is my ever declining mental stability and fondness for creating people in my head."

The was nothing but silence for a moment, before the fox roared in laughter.

"What?" The blond snapped, "What's so funny about that?"

 **"You really are pathetic no matter what the time."** The beast continued chucking, **"Figure it out, Akai Kami."**

* * *

When he woke up again his neck hurt and he was slumped over in his chair drooling on his desk. Wincing, Naruto sighed and wiped his scrolls off the best he could. Well, that wasn't how he thought his first conversation would go. Glancing down at the seals, he saw they were still in proper working order. It must've been the sudden decline in his enormous chakra reserves that made him pass out initially. Now, though, he was used to it. What a useless conversation, though. He got nothing out of the damned beast except what sounded something like a moniker. Akai Kami.

Naruto sighed, sitting at his desk as he tried to dredge up the memories he had surpassed for so long. He was pathetic no matter what the time, the fox had said and then he had called him by that strange name. Was the beast messing around with him, playing with him like prey? Closing his eyes, Naruto thought back and dug into the deep crevices of his mind. What did they call him when he saw things?

Amahiko Uzumaki.

Swallowing tightly when the answer came so easily, so quickly, in a voice that wasn't quite his own. Deeper, an almost tenor tone compared to Naruto's twelve year old squeaky voice. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was only nine in the morning. He had five hours until practice at two, and he decided to do something he had never done before. Go to the library. Throwing on his jumpsuit and running out the door, the blond Uzumaki nearly flew to the library with how fast he ran. Ignoring the glares that got sent towards the orange clad boy as he zipped around the villages, Naruto cautiously entered the building and made sure his forehead protector was clearly displayed on his forehead. They couldn't kick him out if he was a shinobi.

Wandering past the civilian section, he headed towards the parts of the library that required ninja clearance. The lady at the desk glanced up long enough to see his forehead protector then looked back down to her crossword puzzles, not caring a single bit. Smiling slightly, Naruto zipped straight for the clan section and went straight for the bottom of the shelves where the 'U' clans would be. Glancing at the titles, Naruto saw a few books on the Ueno clan of Suna and the Umemoto clan of Kiri. There were nearly five shelves dedicated to the Uchiha, and finally at the very bottom Naruto spotted what he was looking for.

The Uzumaki Clan of Uzushiogakure, The Shodai: Ashina Uzumaki, Tenma Uzumaki: History of the Nidaime, The Fall of Uzushio, The Beginning of Uzushio and the History of Ashina Uzumaki, Sukāretto Shi: Tenma Uzumaki, Ashina Uzumaki: The Saisho no Densetsu, The Sandaime Uzukage: Amahiko Uzumaki, The Survivors of the Fall.

Snatching the books, Naruto looked at them with wide eyes. The Sandaime Uzukage? The Fall of Uzushio? Going to one of the tables in the back corner, Naruto opened the one regarding Amahiko Uzumaki. The first page, Naruto looked at the portrait of the young man printed in the book. Deep red hair, brown eyes, tanned skin. He had the white robes of the Uzukage on with the orange accents, and a warm smile on his face. Blinking, the blond felt a severe sense of deja vu looking at the man. Flipping through the pages, Naruto saw the moniker Akai Kami over and over. Grabbing the two books, he rushed up to the desk and checked them out from the unenthusiastic desk lady.

Rushing home, he packed away his ink and scrolls and flipped open the book on Amahiko Uzumaki. Eighth born of nine children, son of Tsubaki Uzumaki and her husband Ryota Mori-Uzumaki, Sandaime Uzukage of Uzushio until the destruction of the village just before the end of the Second Shinobi World War. Younger brother of Nanami, Ichiro, Fuji, Katsuro, Hanako, Shima, and Umi Uzumaki. Elder brother of Mirai Uzumaki. Naruto's brows furrowed, headache growing as he skimmed through the book.

(He saw the blade pierce his eldest sister's body, felt it like it was his own heart that had just been run through.

"Nanami!" Ichiro screamed, cutting down the Kiri nin who had felled her, only to be attacked from all sides, "Nanami!"

Amahiko watched in horror as he, too, fell into the thick mix of blood and water that ran through the streets of Uzushio. If it could even be called that anymore, he though bitterly as he fought through the masses. The first attack had been genocide; hundreds of his clansmen slain within the day. Those remaining rallied to Amahiko with the rest of the village, their Uzukage leading them into battle. The civilians were mostly evacuated, not many left on the island that hadn't been slain or shipped off. Mirai had been one of them, the youngest of the main Uzumaki branch who was no more than six years old. The most recent addition to his family, and the one that was hardest to let go. She looked more like their father than any of them, with brown hair and eyes unlike the rest of the Uzumaki children. Brown hair that had been tousled when she was tore from her bed and brown eyes that had been crying when she clung to Amahiko and begged not to be sent away.

He wondered where she was now.

Tear pricking the back of his eyes, he wondered. He wondered how many of his siblings were still alive. He wondered if he would ever find his uncle Tenma's body, or the body of his mother. He wondered if his father had gotten word to Konoha yet, or if they would all die here on this island. He wondered if Uzushio was done for, or if it would rise again. He wondered a lot nowadays, when sun up to sun down was filled with nothing but blood and pain and watching his loved ones die.)

Staring at the names on the page, Naruto didn't realize he was crying until the tears dripped onto his desk.


	6. Heart Like Whirlpools

_(Mirai giggled, leaning on Amahiko as she watched Nanami and Ichiro spar, her brown eyes wide with awe. The twins were really going at it, Amahiko was pretty sure Ichiro nearly cut their sister's head off at one point. Snorting slightly as his elder brother was blown back by one of Nami's wind_ jutsu _, the newly dubbed Sandaime Uzukage leaned back against the wooden post of the Uzumaki compound training ground. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, the_ red haired _Uzumaki glanced over to see Mirai looking at him seriously._

 _"Hiko-_ nii _, I wanna spar!" Her face broke out into a grin, "Please!"_

 _Laughing slightly, he shook his head, "Let's just watch Nami and Ichi spar for now, okay? Maybe later I'll show you some katas, but only if you're good for_ kaa _-chan and help her make dinner."_

 _Nanami snorted as she dodged another poorly aimed strike from their brother, "Please, teach her no more, Hiko-_ hime _! She's becoming a little monster of a powerhouse, just like you as a child and with all of your ambition as well."_

 _"Yeah!" The male twin laughed as he swung for his sister's abdomen, "She's a fūinjutsu nightmare, alright."_

 _"Just because she's catching onto sealing faster than you is no reason to be bitter." Amahiko smirked at him slightly, a hand reaching out and ruffling Mirai's bangs, "And just for that, I'll show you some more sealing tonight with_ kaa _-chan, sound good,_ imouto _?"_

 _She nodded, ponytail shaking from side to side, "Thank you, Hiko-_ nii _!"_

 _"You spoil her." Nanami laughed, finally drawing blood on Ichiro when she rushed him and brought her sword down to slice his shoulder open._

 _"Ah,_ shiiii _-!" Ichiro bit his lip, smothering the word when Amahiko glared at him, "Shoot! Ah, shoot!"_

 _"Ichi-_ nii _, you need to go see Hana-nee!" Mirai looked at him with wide, worried eyes, "Your shoulder's bleeding!"_

 _"Yeah." He grabbed a towel from the sidelines, using that to stop the blood, "I'll be right back. This isn't over Nanami!"_

 _"Sure it isn't." She drawled, smirking as she cleaned her blade.)_

Naruto slumped his shoulders, walking past the training grounds. There was still time until practice, but he was still reeling from the information he'd gathered. He had absolutely no clue what it all meant, but he knew it wasn't normal. Having another person's memories in his head could mean a few things, but Naruto was almost inclined to blame everything on the demon in his gut.

"HOW WONDERFUL, MY STUDENTS! YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE BURNING BRIGHTLY!"

Jumping at the exclamation, Naruto whipped around to look into Training Ground 3, blinking in shock at the green spandex-clad man and his mini-me standing with what appeared to be a Hyuga and a brunette girl who was staring at the two green beasts in what could only be described as horror. Blinking, Naruto stared in shock at the flamboyant man and his charge. Glancing down at his neon orange jumpsuit, he wondered if this was what people meant when they said 'kill-me-neon'. Shivering slightly at the smallest comparison of his clothes and the green monstrosity, Naruto decided to maybe look for some more suitable clothes. He could always wear an orange undershirt or something...anything was better than looking like the neon men.

"Naruto-kun! Your flames of youth burn brightly today!"

Blinking, wide-eyed, the blond realized the mini-me had spotted him looking. Smiling at hastily backing up, it was too late because the boy was over by him in an instant and dragging him inside the training ground.

"I'm, ah, I'm sorry...who are you?" Naruto frowned, wracking his brain for a name, "I, um, I don't-!"

"Lee, you're being overbearing again." The girl spoke up, a small but gentle smile on her face, "He hasn't been in our class for forever. Introduce yourself again."

"I am Konoha's Wild Green Beast, Rock Lee!" He gave a toothy smile and an enthusiastic thumbs up to Naruto, "We were in different classes at the academy, but our paths crossed many times!"

Naruto blinked. Rock Lee sounded familiar...he was pretty sure the kid used to wear a long braid. Glancing towards the other two, he raised his eyebrows helplessly. The girl snorted, earning a disapproving glare from the Hyuga. She smiled widely, setting her large scroll down from where she had it strapped to her back.

"Suzuki Tenten." Her brown eyes twinkled, "I remember some of your pranks. The pink hair dye was legendary, by the way."

"Eh, thanks." He returned her grin, mood brightening, "I should've died my own too, though. It was a dead giveaway."

She laughed, and the Hyuga nodded towards Naruto, "Hyuga Neji."

"Uzumaki Naruto." He smiled brightly, "Though bushy brows over there already seems to know me."

"It would be most unyouthful to forget friends!" The boy fist pumped, earning a glare from Neji and a groan from Tenten.

"Look at my youthful students, making friends!" The green spandex man wiped away a single, fake tear, "Your flames of youth burn brightly today!"

"That's Guy-sensei." Tenets pointed towards the man, "He's Lee's mentor if you couldn't tell."

Her eyes held amusement, and Naruto smiled. They all seemed nice, even Neji with his broody attitude. It was nowhere near as bad as Sasuke's.

"Well, I should go meet with my team. Kakashi-sensei might be on time-!"

"Kakashi?" Guy's eyes bugged out, "My hip and cool rival has taken a genin team! You and your teammates must have been youthful indeed!"

"Yeah..." Naruto blinked, "Like I said, I should go now. Sorry for interrupting!"

"Hey, Naruto!" Tenten yelled as he walked away, "You know the shinobi shop just outside the civilian district shops? Stop by there soon, it's my dad's! I'll get you some wicked kunai and shuriken!"

Glancing down at his pouch filled with rusty kunai, Naruto smiled, "I'll drop by soon, dattebayo!"

Warmth unfurled in his chest. Was this what it meant to have comrades, people willing to go out of their way to help you? He may not have solved his problem, but he felt lighter as he walked to team practice.

* * *

"Broody, are eyes on the target."

"Target is spotted, Scarecrow. Blondie, is the net prepared?"

"The net is prepared."

"Pinky and Blondie move is 3, 2, 1-!"

Sakura shot out of the bushed with Naruto, both gripping the net tightly as the threw themselves onto the ground, trapping the cat in-between their two bodies, the net, and ground. Tora hissed, claws shooting out the scratch Sakura's arm, making her scream. Naruto held on tighter, the thick materiel harder to pierce with claws, and Sasuke rushed forwards with rope. The cat screeched and hissed as Sasuke tied the rope in a knot, sealing the nest closed. Naruto held the net away from his body as they made it to Hokage tower, where the practically threw the bound cat at the daimyo's wife. She left, ruffled, and the three ignored the glare leveled at them by Iruka.

"What's next, jiji?" Naruto stuck his hands in his pants and smiled.

The Hokage gave them a blank stare, "Kakashi, your team has completed D ranks at a...startling speed."

The man's visible eye twitched, "They have better teamwork than I originally thought."

"Is that so?"

"Quite, Hokage-sama."

The man looked at his papers, "Well, I think something a bit more difficult is in order, in that case. Still a D rank, but tomorrow you'll be assigned to help some of the farmers plant seeds. Kakashi, you know the farms just outside the village, correct?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Good, then. Meet tomorrow at the missions desk, and come early. It'll be a long day."

Naruto waited until they were out of the tower to glance at Sasuke and Sakura, "Water clones?"

"Duh, dobe." Sasuke snorted, "I have better things to do than plow a field."

Sakura nodded, "I'll read my book on medical jutsu that Kakashi-sensei gave me."

"And I'll work on my specialty." Naruto grinned just a tad viciously, making his whole team shudder. As it turns out, he has an alarmingly large talent at making exploding tags and other types of offensive seals. Kakashi utilized this for many things regarding their training, often having a Naruto clone trap the whole forest and making his genin go through it without getting blown to bits. After several times, they got the hang of it. However, Sakura has gone through more dresses than she ever though she would in her entire life. There's just some things clothing can't come back from, and being lit on fire and exploded are two of them.

"Okay, good job today my precious little genin." Kakashi eye-smiled at them, receiving only deadpan looks in response, "Meet at the missions desk at six tomorrow morning."

"So eight?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms.

"You've already learned so much." He wiped away a nonexistent tear, "I'm so proud."

He was gone in an instant, leaving the three kids standing by themselves outside the tower. Sakura sighed slightly, glancing towards Sasuke. Naruto could tell she was weighing her options. After Kakashi-sensei had them do a bunch of placement tests, to see what level they were on, the pink haired girl realized she was behind. Devastatingly so. So when Kakashi recommended she look into medical jutsu, as it would complement he near perfect chakra control, she eagerly latched on to any resources he gave her. She still had a huge, obvious crush on Sasuke, but she figured they were on a team now. Let friendship happen first, maybe, and camaraderie. Love could wait until after they were chunin.

Needless to say one Uchiha Sasuke thanked whatever gods there were that the pink leech made a disappearance and was now trying to become something useful. He could tolerate her like that. Before though...he shuddered to think about it.

"Do you guys wanna go get some ramen?" Naruto asked, pointing in the direction of Ichiraku's, "I didn't catch breakfast this morning."

Sakura frowned slightly, "Nutrition is important, Naruto. You should get up early enough to eat something, even if it is ramen."

She was beginning to worry over her blond teammate. Ever since the day she found out he couldn't even enter stores she began to get concerned, and it only grew when she realized how little he cared for his own health and safety. Sasuke-kun she didn't have to worry about; he was responsible, and he knew when and what to eat and how to do basic things for himself. Naruto, though, had never had any parents at all to show him things. Thrown out of the orphanage and left to the streets, she worried what habits he would pick up. It was silly, maybe, but ever since he seemed to drop his crush on her like a hot potato about two weeks ago, things had changed.

"Eh, I was busy." He seemed to consider something for a moment, glancing around the nearly empty street save a few chunin here and there, "You guys wanna see something cool?"

Sasuke only raised an eyebrow, while Sakura nodded encouragingly. Naruto began to roll up his sleeve, and the two teammates blinked at the marks that were seemingly tattooed into his skin. Endless patterns and shapes and kanji, covering the entirety of his left arm. The Uzumaki grinned at their expressions, snickering slightly as he finally got the sleeve of his jumpsuit rolled up to the shoulder. The huge seal was still partly concealed, but it showed them enough.

"Dobe." Sasuke eyed his warily, "You didn't make yourself into a bomb, did you?"

"No!" Naruto scoffed, "This is an old clan technique."

"Clan technique?" Sakura looked up from the markings, "You're an orphan, though."

"The Uzumaki Clan." Naruto shrugged, "Sure, my parents died, but my last name still reveals what clan I belonged to. It's long dead, now, and was way before I was born at that. Uzushio, that's where nearly all of them lived. It was attacked by Kiri and Iwa during the second war. Almost everyone was killed, but I'm guessing a few others got away like my parents did."

Sakura stayed silent, and Sasuke only narrowed his eyes before making a gesture to the blond boy's arm, "What's that? You said it was a clan technique? How'd you find out about it?"

"Well, I got some books from the library. This was talked about in one of them." Naruto lied through his teeth, "You guys know I have a knack for fūinjutsu, I just read about the technique and then recreated it."

"What does it do?" Sakura asked, looking at the intricate seal work.

"I have a wind and water affinity naturally. That means it's super easy for me to use those elements, Sakura-chan." He spoke quietly, "Basically, this seal utilizes the huge reserves typically seen in Uzumaki by splitting up your chakra a bit and storing it in these seals. The seals convert my other chakra into lightning, fire, and earth affinities. That way, whenever I learn a technique that isn't my natural affinity, I can still use it to it's full potential."

Sakura's mouth hung open slightly, "Is that safe?"

"Totally." Naruto shrugged, "Er, well, that's what I was doing this morning. Putting this thing on. I'll practice with it during training, get the hang of having reduced chakra reserves. Shouldn't affect anything important."

"Does sensei know?" The pinkette asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, no." He scratched his cheek, "It was a spur of the moment thing. He'll find out eventually."

"Can you put those on me?" Sasuke asked suddenly, making Naruto frown, "I need-"

"They're designed for Uzumaki." The blond spoke, frown still firmly in place, "Not that I care about keeping techniques within the clan, not when you're a teammate and there's no clan left, but they are designed specifically for very large chakra reserves. Anyone else would die of chakra exhaustion."

"I have good chakra reserves."

"Decent." Naruto seemed pained to say it, "Decent, and that's it. It'd be too much."

Sasuke grit his teeth, "Dobe, I need to-"

"Look." The blond interrupted his teammate, "How about this. I'll mess with some seals at home, see if I can limit the amount it takes from your reserves. Make it a slower process, so it still builds and converts chakra, but gives your coils time to refresh and produce more. In return...you teach me a fire jutsu."

The Uchiha was wide eyed, "You would...do...that?"

He seemed thrown off, and Naruto just smiled, "We're teammates. That means we're stuck together, and what benefits you benefits us all. We help each other grow, we don't hold each other back. Your dreams are our dreams, teme, so if revenge is what you want, we'll help you get it and kick ass while we're at it! Right, Sakura-chan?"

Her green eyes were wide at his speech, but she quickly snapped her head towards Sasuke, a determined expression on her face as she nodded firmly, "Of course! We're here to support each other, and I'll learn medical jutsu to heal you two up when you start being stupid and reckless."

"See?" Naruto's grin grew, "So, yeah, I'll work on something. You just gotta show me a fire jutsu, got it?"

The Uchiha was silent for a moment, looking at his two teammates stunned but trying to keep it under wraps, "Hn. If you think you can handle it, dobe."

"Of course I can!" He took off down the road, "Now let's go get ramen, dattebayo!"

"Eh?" Sakura yelled, "Narutoooo! Wait up!"

Team 7 rushed down the street, heading for Ichiraku's with renewed vigor.


End file.
